Google presents another framework for the Internet of Things (IoT) at its I/O conference in the shape of Brillo, an Android-derived operating system promising "an end-to-end, complete solution" for device connectivity.

Described as an "end-to-end functioning OS," Brillo is designed to power the lightweight devices making the IoT, as well as any number of smart home devices.

Networking comes through Weave, a communications layer allowing IoT devices to talk to each other and with the cloud. Similar to offerings such as the ZigBee Cluster Library, it supports wifi and Bluetooth Low Energy, as well low-power networking protocols such as the Google-owned Nest's Thread.

Under increasing pressure from Android-based smartphone vendors, especially in China, Samsung is rumoured to be increasing its range of Tizen-based phones in an apparent attempt to take greater control of its platform.

Samsung was the only major smartphone vendor to experience declines in YoY shipments in Q1 2015, with IDC reporting a drop of 7%, from 88.5 to 82.4 million. This decline can be partly attributed to Apple, and the strength of its iPhone 6 launch and momentum, and partly to the plethora of Android-based phones from other vendors, in particular from China. These include Lenovo (now boosted by its acquisition of Motorola), Huawei and Xiaomi, as well as a growing number of strong regional players, such as India’s Micromax.

Google confirms its ambitions to put Android in just anything at this year's I/O conference-- not only smartphones and laptops, but also TVs (Android TV), wearables (Android Wear) and even cars (Android Auto).

The keynote opened with a preview of the next generation of Android, version 5.0 or "L" (probably stands for "lollipop"). The updated smartphone OS gets an animated look the company calls "Material Design", as well as performance improvements, battery-saving measures, enhanced notifications and 64-bit support.

Google says Android users clock at over 1 billion.

Confirmed at the conference was the new Google take on TV space-- Android TV. First leaked last April, Android TV turns TVs into, well, an Android device. It shares the same API as mobile devices, runs apps from the Google Play store and features "Cast" capabilities just like the Chromecast dongle allowing users to mirror content from mobile devices to their TVs.

Google says Android TV will appear in Sony and Philips TVs, as well as streaming boxes from Razer and Asus.

The Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) has never been a hardware show, but rarely has it been so focused on operating system updates-- both OS X and iOS are getting new versions packed with tweaks and features later this year.

As these things tend to do we also got the latest Apple user numbers, from the Mac installed base (80 million) and the percentage currently using Mavericks (51%) to big iOS numbers (2013 saw 135m customers buying a first iDevice) and overall satisfaction totals (97%).

Opening proceeds before the traditional keynote was "Apps We Can't Live Without," a video celebrating the users' favourite apps and the developers behind them. After all, WWDC is a developers' event-- and registered Apple developer numbers now total 9 million, a 47% increase in 12 months.

Belkin announces an addition to the Mixit DuraTek durable cable line-- a USB-C cable featuring Kevlar-reinforced conductors and double-braided nylon shielding on the outside.
The USB-C cable is certified by both...

Snap-- aka the rebranded Snapchat-- announces the Spectacles, its video-recording sunglasses, are now available in Europe, 7 months after an initial US launch.
For the unfamiliar, the Spectacles are a pair...